


Spinodal Decompsition

by merisunshine36



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-08
Updated: 2010-02-08
Packaged: 2017-10-07 03:04:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merisunshine36/pseuds/merisunshine36
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carol Marcus had it all, and yet, things never turn out quite the way you hope they will.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spinodal Decompsition

Saavik told her it was fast, that David didn't feel any pain at all.

If that isn't the truth, then Carol doesn't want to know.

* * *

When she first discovered she was pregnant, she hurried out of the tiny apartment she and a roommate shared to hail a cab. The wet, chilly air bit into her skin, making her wish she was wearing something more than the thin cardigan she had hastily pulled over her head. Her hair was a loose and messy cloud of gold about her face, and it wasn't until the hovercab was speeding through the streets that she had realized that she still had her slippers on.

Of course, this baby meant that she would have to rescind her application for that 3-year exploratory mission she'd had her heart set on. But that was okay, Starfleet wasn't all about being in space, there were a number of opportunities in the labs that could keep her happy. And Jim loved being out there in the great beyond with all of his heart, but he had seemed happy here in San Francisco during his few weeks of shore leave—hadn't he?

At least, that's what she told herself as she ran her credit chit through the little scanner in the hovercab and sprung lightly to the ground.

They were so happy together, so perfect. With Jim's infectious charisma and Carol's untethered genius—she could only imagine what their child would be like.

The turbolift up to Jim's apartment couldn't go fast enough. He had given her the security code to his place; the door opened with a soft hiss and she slipped in under cover of darkness. She shed her clothing piece by piece as she tiptoed back to his room, her toes sinking into the soft carpet underfoot. Her heart was full to bursting.

“Computer, lights. 100 percent.” Her skin was flushed with anticipation, her breasts rising and falling with each breath.

In the bed lay Jim, the long perfect curve of his back disappearing into the rumpled sheets below. Next to him was another figure, a cascade of thick dark hair tumbling over the pillow.

Jim sat up and blinked in confusion at the sudden, bright light, his captain's instincts sharp even here. “Carol?”

She froze—even if she were dressed, she could not have felt more naked.

“Oh God. Jim, how could you--?”

She turned and ran from the room, ignoring Jim's voice as he called after her.

* * *

Carol watches the footage of the Genesis Planet's destruction over and over again. Maybe if she looks close enough, she will be able to see her little boy.

Her baby and her life's work, gone in the space of a moment.

And yet, she remains.

**Author's Note:**

> Cleaned up and enhanced from the original version written for the Firefly/Serenity drabblefest at [](http://community.livejournal.com/where_no_woman/profile)[**where_no_woman**](http://community.livejournal.com/where_no_woman/) , prompt #25: _"The next time you decide to stab me in the back, have the guts to do it to my face."_. According to Wiki, spinodal decomposition is "a mechanism by which a solution of two or more components can separate into distinct regions (or phases) with distinctly different chemical compositions and physical properties." I thought this explained Jim and Carol quite nicely.


End file.
